278 A g r e e m e n t s u p p l e m e n t s importAnCe oF ACtion AnD ACtivism mAp loCAtion D, E, 7 threAD loCAtion Page 117 sCApe Service Leadership Policy Creating an Agenda Creating a New Social Compact Social Justice Issues Innovation improve society means knowledge of redefines involves involves means knowledge of involves means knowledge of The Mission of Librarians is to Improve Society through Facilitating Knowledge Creation in their Communities Importance of Action and Activism Author Elizabeth Gall Agreement DesCription In “Facilitating Knowledge Management and Knowledge Sharing: New Opportunities for Information Professionals,” Marshall (1997) discusses the difference between information and knowledge. She explains that, “information is transformed into knowledge when a person reads, understands, interprets, and applies the information to a specific work function” (Marshall, 1997). The librarian’s goal is to facilitate this process. This agreement examines what action and activism are necessary for librarians to facilitate knowledge creation in members. A recurring theme throughout the Atlas and our discussion of new librarianship is that of knowledge creation. This theme is at the root of action and activism by librarians. The “Importance of Action and Activism” section in the Atlas argues that knowledge is created even when those having the conversation know little or nothing about the topic. Lankes explains that knowledge must be tested through action . But what action should be taken? The Atlas says that any action will impact knowledge creation, but it will also skew the conversation surrounding the topic. How can we as librarians know that our actions are not skewing the conversation for the worse? Ojala (2004) believes we must tailor information to the audience. She argues that information professionals can take action not only by analyzing or summarizing information but also in how they present Figure 143 A g r e e m e n t s u p p l e m e n t s 279 it. The first or boldest item in a list of resources is likely to have a greater impact than the last. Ojala champions this fact as a means to better serve members and to better market services. At no point does she discuss or even mention the ethical implications of skewing the conversation. Lankes concludes the “Importance of Action and Activism ” section with a call for “a new apparatus of librarianship,” a part of our worldview that ultimately talks about ethical and appropriate knowledge and conversation. Ojala’s stance highlights just how important that is. In addition to the call for a new apparatus, Lankes argues that simply having values and principles is not enough. Librarians must work to improve society through action. It can be argued that this is possible through the skewing of conversation. For example, if a librarian highlights the results of an online search that come from reliable, safe Internet sources, they are skewing the conversation to promote the creation of knowledge through responsible, safe web navigation. A classmate, Jocelyn Clarke, shared an example regarding a search for information on mixing illegal drugs. She found the sites written by enthusiasts to contain more complete and helpful information than the neutral sites. Is it ethical and appropriate to encourage knowledge creation from a source that promotes breaking the law through illegal drug use? It may depend on the member. It would be more appropriate to share these sites with a mother worried about her wayward child than with a preteen working on a report for school. The student is most likely looking for facts while the mother is looking for a way to help her child. As librarians we are taught not discriminate based on age, religion , socioeconomic status, and so on. Is skewing the conversation for members a method of discrimination? I don’t think it is, but I do think it is a good question for librarians to keep in mind when taking action. If we are going to skew the conversation (we are), we must work to stay aware of how knowledge creation is changed. “Information professionals need to refrain from evaluating or ‘improving’ upon internal information” (Marshall, 1997). Librarians must be sure that they are not skewing the information in the process of skewing the conversation. We cannot have a discussion on the importance of action and activism without also considering service. Librarians strive to serve the communities to which they belong. They also believe “the best knowledge comes from working in the richest information environment possible...

If you would like to authenticate using a different subscribed institution that supports Shibboleth authentication or have your own login and password to Project MUSE, click 'Authenticate'.

Welcome to Project MUSE

Use the simple Search box at the top of the page or the Advanced Search linked from the top of the page to find book and journal content. Refine results with the filtering options on the left side of the Advanced Search page or on your search results page. Click the Browse box to see a selection of books and journals by: Research Area, Titles A-Z, Publisher, Books only, or Journals only.